[Herpetology • 2013] Hemiphyllodactylus zugi • A New Species of Hemiphyllodactylus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from northern Vietnam

We describe a new species of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus on the basis of four specimens from Cao Bang Province, northern Vietnam. Hemiphyllodactylus zugi sp. nov. is distinguished from the remaining congeners by a combination of the following characters: a bisexual taxon; average SVL of adult males 41 mm, of adult female 46.6 mm; chin scales bordering mental and first infralabial distinctly enlarged; digital lamellae formulae 3-4-4-4 (forefoot) and 4-5-5-5 (hindfoot); femoral and precloacal pore series continuous, 18–21 in total in males, absent in female; cloacal spur single in males; dorsal trunk pattern of dark brown irregular transverse bands; dark lateral head stripe indistinct; upper zone of flank with a series of large light spots, edged above and below in dark grey; caecum and gonadal ducts unpigmented.

Etymology. We name the new species in honour of Professor Dr. George Zug, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington DC, USA), in recognition of his contribution to herpetological research in Southeast Asia, particularly the genus Hemiphyllodactylus. As common names we suggest Zug’s Slender Gecko (English), Zugs Halbblattfingergecko (German), and Thạch sùng dẹp zug (Vietnamese).

Natural history. Hemiphyllodactylus zugi inhabits disturbed secondary limestone forests near a residential area at elevations between 435–601 m. Specimens were found at night on a wooden fence, tree bark and leaves near cave entrances or on a limestone boulder near a forest path, ca. 0.5–1.5 m above the ground.

Distribution. The species is currently known only from Cao Bang Province in northern Vietnam (Fig. 4). This species is expected to be found in the contiguous limestone forests in Guangxi Province, China as in the case of Gekko adleriNguyen, Wang, Yang, Lehmann, Le, Ziegler & Bonkowski, a recently described species from the border region between China and Vietnam (Nguyen et al. 2013).